Method of making valve bodies



I July5, 1938. A. E. sANTAMARIA ,9

METHOD OFMAKING VALVE BODIES Filed Aug. 5, 1935 INVENIUR. *2 E 38225877781 15 BY %ZRNEYS.

Patented July 1938 Q I y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF MAKING VALVE BODIES Aristodemo Emilio Santamaria, Genoa, Italy Application August 5, 1935, Serial No. 34,804 In Italy August 8, 1934 '2 Claims. 01. 29-1511) Thepresent invention relates to improvements necessary stiffening and strengthening action in valve construction and manufacture of the against the deformations caused by the internal bodies of valves and the like. pressure of the fluid on the valve body; and this The bodies of valves and like devices such as brings among other things a very dangerous 5 cocks, slide valves, gate valves, etc, destined to deficiency of tightness. 5 be used in connection with pipings for water, The bodies of valves and the like, according steam, corrosive liquids, etc. have been usually to the present invention, are formed of elemenmanufactured heretofore from either cast iron, tary pieces of sheet material such as iron, steel steel or other alloys or with stamped or pressed or the like, and of annular elements applied upon sheet metal members welded together without the tubular ends of the body so as to form flanges, lo a special rule. the elementary pieces and the annular elements The common method of manufacture by meltbeing joined together by welding, the lines of ing presents however various inconveniences and which being arranged on surfaces whether plane especially those peculiar to the bodies obtained or curved which are so directed relatively to each by casting. Consequently there is a necessity for other that the welding lines'using appropriate l5 complex and expensive patterns to avoid faulty resistant material, constitute a resistant cage or castings which often result and are noticeable skeleton which, in addition to providing its only after breakage has taken place during use. resistant action, also cooperates to render all the All this leads to the obtaining of heavy valves at elementary portions of the valve body more a greater cost of manufacture and sale and resistant. The body is thus provided with the 20 presents inconveniences of utilization. On the necessary stiffening and strengthening so that other hand, the rough cast parts have to be subthe web may exactly adhere to its seat in each sequently fashioned by means of machine-tools, condition of pressure. which involves a further increase in the cost of For this purpose and as long as the conformamanufacture. tion of the valve permits, one of the said lines of 25 It has also been customary to manufacture welding is included within the plane of symmetry bodies of valves and the like from wrought maof the body to be constructed, and the other line terial, but this method presents the drawback or lines are contained in the plane or curved due to a very high cost of manufacture which is surfaces normal to the said plane .of symmetry.

still further considerably increased by the sub- In general, according to the present-invention, 30

sequent machine work. the body of the valve presents awelding line Furthermore, the employment of cast iron, encorresponding to the perimeter of the diaphragm tails the inconvenience, characteristic thereof which carries the valve seating, and such welding consisting in producing valves which absolutely line serves to connect the said diaphragm, the

lackelasticity and which, under the stresses due edgeof which extends up to the external surface 35 to the now prevalent very high fluid pressures, of the body of the valve or cock, directly to the as for instance from hydraulic impact in pressure two other parts of the said body which precede or pipings are likely to cause permanent deformafollow'the said diaphragm in the direction of tions, with dangerous consequences. the fluid flow.

40 Valve bodies made of elastic material such as Besides what has been previously indicated in 40 iron and steel have indeed been sug ested using connection with the resistant cage vor skeleton, tubing suitably cut and welded together, but such particular conformation also permits of either the shapes adapted for the various details e ring quick and ec nomic work a well as a or the properlines of welding, or an unsuitable perfect welding between the said two external 5 selection of material with which the solderlngs parts of the said body and the diaphragm carryare effected, have caused this method to give no ing the seating for the valve. Because of the practical results and they lack especially the fact that the welding line is entirely exterior and various requirements of resistance for the pasaccessible upon the body to be constructed this sage of the fluids, etc. -A kind of valve, the body enables the checking and examination for ascerof which results from the junction (by soldering taining whether the weld is right or not and fully 50 or welding) of several members of sheet metal watertight or for carrying out all the operations and with flanges welded to the body, has been such as heating, hammering, grinding, which proposed, but these bodies, owing to their con,- have subsequently to be effected along the weldstitution of sheet metal portions which gives a ing line.

high degree of elasticity, do"not present the Finally, the method of manufacture according 55 to the present invention consists in so shaping the several sheet metal pressed elements as to maintain the same shape in the valve bodies as those known in practice and commerce, thereby facilitating the commercial operations. The various elements of the valve also retain their usual sizes which assure that the fluid flowing therethrough is in the same good condition as attained with known types.

Another very important advantage is afforded by the foregoing features: and, thanks to the quality of the material employed and to the resistant skeleton constituted by the welding. lines, the body of the valve presents a much greater lightness and simultaneously a much greater resistance to deformation than the known types made from cast material. Furthermore,

'it has also been. found that when the material constituting the valve body has been" stressed beyond the admissible range because of shocks or abnormal stresses, the deformed body does not break.

The accompanying drawing illustrates by way of example, some embodiments of the invention. Fig. 1 shows, partly in elevation and partly in section, the body of a valve;

. means of welding lines.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the diaphragm designed to carry the seat of the valve before such diaphragm is welded to the'otherelements to constitute the body of the valve;

Fig. 3 is a view in elevation and partially in axial section of another embodiment of the valve body;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section according to line IVIV of Fig. 3; and

Figs. 5 and (i show partially in elevation and partially in axial section, two other embodiments of the invention.

In all the modifications illustrated, the valve bodies are constituted by individual plate elements, suitably shaped and joined together by The shape of the individual members constituting the body of the valve is such as to give the valve the same shape and proportions as those of known valves. One of such welding lines lies in the plane of symmetry of the body of the valve and is designated by l-l in all the figures. 5 lies along the periphery of the diaphragm 2 that is destined to carry the seat 3 of the valve disk 4. This diaphragm may be flat, as shown in Fig. 3 or curved as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In certain cases, as for example in Fig.. 6; there may be two seat-carrying diaphragms. In such case the Welding lines 5 will be two. The welding lines 5 lying along the periphery of the dia- Another welding line or; flange members 6, I and 8 are arranged upon the tubular ends of the envelope thus formed and such rings are connected to the body by means of the welding lines 9, l0, ll each of which lies in aplane that is normal to the plane of symmetry of the envelope and therefore also to the welding line l--l arranged in the plane of symmetry.

As shown in the drawing, each welding line intersects perpendicularly with another welding line at two points. From the foregoing it also follows that the welding lines lying upon surfaces perpendicular to each other intersect perpendicularly and that the welding lines along the diaphragm intersect the. welding lines arranged in the symmetry plane of the valve at intermediate points of said lines. Consequently, the welding lines constitute a stiffening and stengthening cage for the body of the valve with a view to reducing the deformations of the valve body, as well as to making such valve body sufficiently resistant against the action of relatively high pressure. This also accounts for the manner in which a maximum of stiffening and strengthening action is secured through the provision of the welded case, as well as for the fact that the valve disk will fit exactly upon its seat even under high pressures.

The several sheet metal pressed elements are so shaped as to maintain the same shape in the valve bodies as those known in practice and commerce thereby facilitating the commercial operations.

It is obvious that not only the illustrated valve bodies, but also those of valves of any other shape can be constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:

1. A method of manufacturing valve bodies which comprises, shaping sheet metal into sev- ,eral parts to form a. body for the valve and a seating diaphragm, welding said parts together,

one of said welding lines being along the periphcry of the seating diaphragm so that it directly joins the diaphragm to the elements lying on both sides of the diaphragm, and thereafter arranging flange members upon the ends of the body and welding the flange members to the body, said welding lines, said parts of the valve and the shape of the several'parts of sheet metal being so chosen that the lines of welding connecting these parts constitute a reinforced case, the lines of welding formed on straight and curved surfaces intersecting perpendicularly with each other at intermediate points of said lines.

2. A method of manufacturing valve bodies ARISTODEMO EMILIO SANTAMARIA. 

